A series of 16 public meetings on the Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge begin June 16 in Clinton, Iowa and Refuge Manager Don Hultman is stressing that the meetings signal the beginning of the decision process, not the end.
Hultman said requirements to identify a preferred alternative may lead some to believe that a decision on the future direction of the Refuge is already made. The Draft Plan identifies four alternatives: no action, a wildlife focus, a public use focus, and a wildlife and integrated public use focus (preferred).
“ Identifying a preferred alternative reflects an agency leaning so the public knows where we are coming from. However, we can end up selecting any of the four alternatives, can mix and match various alternatives, and can modify any part of an alternative,” he said.
Hultman said he believes public comment is more focused and meaningful when people have a menu of alternatives to compare and contrast, and it also stimulates new and better options to consider.
He said the first round of public meetings are informational in nature, designed to help people understand what is in the plan through an open house with staff, a slide presentation on major issues and alternatives, and a question and answer session. The open houses start at 5:30 p.m. with the presentation at 6:30 p.m.
Workshops beginning June 13 in Winona, Minn. will focus on getting feedback and ideas using smaller group discussions. Groups will discuss and debate the draft plan and give a verbal report back to the full audience and Refuge officials. All workshops begin at 5:30 p.m. and conclude at 9 p.m.
A full schedule of the dates, times, and locations of the information meetings and workshops was released earlier, and is also available on the Service’s Planning Website: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/uppermiss Full copies of the Draft Plan are also on the website, at local libraries, and at Refuge offices.
Hultman said he anticipates holding more meetings and workshops as needed to ensure that input to the decision process is thorough and meaningful. “We purposefully set a longer-than-normal review and comment period to ensure full input. We remain committed to seeing that happen,” he said.
Hultman also said the May 26 Informational Meeting in Onalaska, Wis., has been moved from Eagle Bluff Elementary School to the Conference Center at the Stoney Creek Inn, 3060 South Kinney Coulee Road in Onalaska.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
